This invention relates to bests and more particularly to a boat propelled by an inboard jet in which the jet unit is readily installed and removed for easier boat transport and storage.
Jet units are a favored propulsion means for small vessels for their high speed, shallow draft and freedom from dangerous propellers. They are popular for the small jet ski boats. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,838 issued Jul. 24, 1990 to Boyer et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,821 issued Oct. 23, 1990 to Tafoya disclose larger boats with jet power that have a rigid bottom to which the power unit is fixed and inflatable pontoon sides. Even when deflated, this is a large and heavy package to transport and store. The power unit is easily damaged if a leak occurs in the flimsy hull structure. Furthermore, the vibration and thrusts from the power unit must be taken up by the weak hull structure, which may fail and leak.
The applicant has invented a folding boat structure disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 835,353 filed Feb. 14, 1992. This structure might be favorably powered by a jet, but it would not be practical with inboard jets of the prior art because it would be too heavy and awkward to fold up. This is the case also with other inflatable, folding and portable boats. An outboard jet engine such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,117 issued Jul. 10, 1984 to Jordan is arranged to clamp onto the transom. This puts great stress on the transom and puts all of the weight at the far end of the boat. It also interferes with some uses for the boat.